Raw Fruits & Vegetables

This is a page devoted to the unusual (for me) fruit and veggies that I have been introduced to over the time that I have been seeking out new and interesting FOOD. That’s one of the advantages of eating raw food. A whole new world opens up and it’s so much fun to discover what God has created that you never saw or tasted. When I take one of my “finds” to work, my co-workers marvel that there’s more than just apples, oranges, pears, and grapes. They aren’t quite that limited but they had no idea that the world has so many kinds of edible plant life. It’s my goal to try as many different fruits and veggies as I can before I die. And may I live long and prosper! Join me on my quest.

As I add varieties, I plan to keep them more or less alphabetized. Since I tend to “group” subjects, it may not always work out that way.

While the fruit that I’ve sampled has been tasty, it would be wonderful to be able to go where they grow in their native habitat and find out what the flavors truly are.

Cherimoya and White Sapote

The cherimoya is the big fat pinecone looking thing. The white sapote looks like a cross between an apple and a plum.

Both fruit need to be rather soft before they are cut. The skin isn’t edible on either one. I don’t know how other people eat them, but I scoop the flesh out with a spoon. The sapote has two differerent kinds of seeds–large and smaller. I don’t know if they would both grow or not. The flesh of the cherimoya is a little less rich than the sapote. The sapote is kind of creamy. They are both sweet and good.

Dragon Fruit (Pitaya) and Longan

The larger bright pink fruit on the left is dragon fruit, aka pitaya (or maybe it’s the other way around). The smaller, fuzzy ones are longan, aka dragon’s eye.

Dragon Fruit (Pitaya)

The lady at the Asian market told me to chill the dragon fruit before I cut it and to cut it crosswise of the fruit.

Then I was to split it down the side to the end and peel the peeling back.

By motioning, she showed me that I was to slice the fruit into rounds. The flavor is very delicate and not unlike a sweetened lime.

Longan

The longan or dragon’s eye is a smallish fruit, bigger than a large marble but smaller than a ping pong ball. It grows on a branch with many fruits together.

Once again, my teacher showed me how to pop the stem off the top of the longan so the peeling can begin.

Biting it just right makes the dragon’s eye. The seed isn’t edible and is discarded along with the peeling. It has a slight coconutty taste.

Muscadines

The muscadines (good ones) have a flavor similar to scuppernongs but these were pretty much tasteless. I was disappointed with the only ones I got this season. Better luck next year, huh?

Persimmons

The larger persimmons are an astringent variety commonly known as Japanese. They have to ripen until they are very soft before they can be eaten. The smaller “turban” shaped persimmon on the right front is a fuyu. It can be eaten at any stage. The crunchy stage has a texture sort of like an apple. The ripe stage is the better known jelly-like consistency.

This is a persimmon that has been slaughtered.

A ripe fuyu that has been prepared for the feast. I can’t describe the taste of a persimmon other than to say it’s delicious. A persimmon tastes like a persimmon.

Purple Potatoes

More a novelty than something good to eat raw, purple potatoes have lots of starch. I’ve had them once. I don’t need to have them again.

Rambutan

The rambutan is an interesting furry little creature. It’s beautiful. Along with the dragon fruit, it is one of the flashier ones I’ve tried.

I was instructed to cut around the edge of the rambutan but not through the middle. Then, I was to pull the two halves apart to reveal the fruit.

A slight squeeze on the one side popped the fruit out.

There is the hard, slightly hairy seed inside. The flavor is hard to describe. It is very refreshing and sweet.

Scuppernongs

Click on the picture to open full size.
Here’s about as much as I get into “styling” my food. These are scuppernongs. That are about the size of a large marble or a little bigger, but I’ve never seen any as big as a ping pong ball. The skin is iridescent goldish green. Or maybe it’s greenish gold. Though they aren’t unusual as far as I’m concerned, I’ve had a lot of people question me about them so here they are.

To eat it, I bite the place where it was attached to the cluster and
squeeze it out into my mouth.

Some people eat the skin. I don’t. I would be a little less enthusiastic about eating a banana peel. The skin is thick, tough, and rubbery. It’s more like a container than food. There are always seeds. I’ve found as few as one and as many as four. Scuppernongs are delicious! If you are ever in the South in the fall, be sure to try them.

Thai Bananas

Here are three bunches of Thai bananas in varying states of ripeness. They have a firmer, creamier texture than regular bananas and are sweeter. They can get black without being too ripe, though I have let some go “bad” without knowing it. They are about half the size of a medium banana. Baby bananas aren’t the same–at least the ones I’ve had.

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About me

Tommie passed away in November 2016, but we are keeping this blog online as a virtual legacy. Here is how she described herself:
My name is Tommie, and I have been vegetarian my whole life. For several years I was 100% raw, but now consider myself vegan with lots of raw food. This website chronicles my journey, gives advice on how to live a raw food lifestyle, and shares recipes, both raw and simple cooked.

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